The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-07-12
TRADES UNION STRIKES.
Costly and Disastrous Failures,
The knights Organiza-
ton Doomed.

Boston Journal.
Signs of disintegration of the
Knights of Labor multiply fast. The
collapse of the shoemakers' strike in
Worcester, Spencer and Brookfeld,
Mass, is a serious blow to the organ
ization. This strike has been in pro-.
gress nearly FIVE months, and involv-
ed an issue which has been generally
regarded as vital to the existence of
the orgauization-i. e., the issue of
''free shops" VS.. the control of labor
unions. 1t had been formerly es.
poused by the knights of Labor con-
siderable sums had been raised in sup
port of it, and more had been prom
ised. But the strain proved too Sc
we're and the suggestion OF MIR. Pow
derby that those concerned should
not let pride stand In the way of
settlement. was soon followed by an
order from district assembly 80, K.
of L., notifying the workmen to seek
work as soon as possible, as the as
sembly could no longer aid them.
This result rot only demonstrates the
inability of one of the most powerful
district assemblies in the country, but
it intensifes the antagonism between
the Knights and the Latter's protect
i've union, which organization has
now undertaken to carry on the fight
alone, so far as the lasters and bot
toners are concerned.
Other signs of disintegration among
the Knights are the attempted boy
colt of the Higgins carpets, which is
virtually war of Knights against
Knights; the rapid growth of the
trades unions and the American Fed
Grafton of Trades, an association
founded upon a principle to the con-
trary to that which underlies the con-
stitution of the Knights ; and the in
dications of waning interest, reduced
membership and open subordination
which crops out here and there.
Most significant of all, perhaps, is
the resolution adopted by the power
full Amalgamated Association of Iron
and Steel Workers, that after the LIST
of April next no member of an asso-
citation will be permitted to be also
a member of the Knights of Labor.
This means open warfare, and if the
Example should be followed by any
considerable number of unions which
make up the Federation of Trades. it
would inevitably disrupt the Knights.
That which is taking place is
only that which was predicted long
ago, and which was inevitable. The
system of sympathetic strikes by
which the knights have endeavored
to carry on their Operations is SIM
ply unavoidable. Every time that it
has been attempted, upon any consid-
able scale, it has resulted in weakness
and exhaustion. When a hack-driver
has it in his power to order thousands
of men in various industries to throw
down their tools because a few hum
dred men in some trade cannot make
satisfactory terms with their employers
when bakers quit work because coal
beavers want two cents more an hour
than they are getting-when carpen-
tiers try to make terms for shoe-makers
and an elocutionist engineers horse
car strike, the labor situation becomes
subject to conditions which are intol-
cradle and which cannot be expected
to last. An organization which is
based on the principles and conducted
by the methods of the Knights of
Labor is doomed to fall to pieces by
reason of its own weight.